Lunar nights are terrifying and highly destructive to human-made technologies. However, Japan’s SLIM spacecraft recently survived the second lunar night after surviving the first one. Keep in mind that Japan is just the fifth nation to successfully land on the moon.
The SLIM spacecraft was not to survive the long cold two weeks of lunar night as the temperatures on the lunar surface usually drop to a staggering minus 208 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 130 degrees Celsius). However, to their greatest surprise, the lander woke up after the first and second lunar nights.
Unlike other landers, the SLIM spacecraft has proven that our technologies will surely survive every environmental condition on the lunar surface. NASA is planning to establish a permanent human presence on the moon starting with its Artemis 3 program which will be launching in September 2026.
If the American Space Agency successfully achieves such a milestone, that means that astronauts will surely be on the moon during these cold lunar nights. The good news is that NASA is investing heavily in technologies that will keep the astronauts alive in all conditions on the lunar surface.
Since Japan’s SLIM spacecraft has proven that our technologies can survive long cold lunar nights, NASA’s futuristic technologies will also survive and sustain humans on the moon. Aside from NASA, other agencies such as Roscosmos, CNSA, ISRO, ESA, CSA, and many others are also hoping to advance some of their technologies on the moon in the future.
These space agencies will figure out how to sustain their technologies on the lunar cold nights. The good news is that the world is embracing another advanced era where futuristic technologies will make it safer for space probes to survive on the moon.
In conclusion, the SLIM spacecraft has proven the possibility of surviving the long cold lunar nights by surviving two extremely lunar nights. The space probe may possibly survive the forthcoming lunar night.
However, the team officials noted that the two cold lunar nights have gotten a better part of the space probe. Let’s hope that the lander will stay a bit longer on the lunar surface to continue making discoveries for humankind.
